Fundamentalist alliance

US-Israel alliance currently based on pact between fundamentalists on both sides

Yossi Paritzky|Published: 12.11.06 , 23:50

A few days ago I returned from a visit to the southern United States, in the area known as the Bible Belt. This giant region stretches from Louisiana to New Mexico and is filled with believers and evangelical churches that constitute the backbone of the current Administration.

One cannot escape the giant billboards urging support for Israel, just like the radio and television shows featuring preachers with business suits and fresh haircuts calling for belief in Jesus on the one hand and support for the Jewish State on the other hand. Indeed, a wave of uncompromising love for us, who live in the Holy Land.

Seemingly, what's wrong with that? However, by slightly scratching the surface of this love we see this is the kind of love that very much depends on something. And this "something" is the Christian fundamentalist belief in Jesus' second revelation, which would be in Jerusalem of course following Armageddon (the war of Gog and Magog).

Or in other words: The Jewish State's existence constitutes for these people clear proof of God's existence and the validity of the "Old Testament" where he promised Abraham that the land will be given to his seed.

This is also the reason why these fundamentalist Christians reject even the slight withdrawal by the State of Israel from its biblical borders, which are the borders of God's promise. It is for good reason that our own Israeli fundamentalists, who sanctify every landmark and grave, are cherished and highly sought after lecturers in the churches of the southern US. Both sides accept the Bible as the sole manual to be followed on the political-diplomatic front.

But the Christian fundamentalists also have the "New Testament," which they believe with all their hearts, and according to which Jesus will again reveal himself to his believers following a terrible war. He will then propose to us, the Jews, the ultimate choice: Accepting him as Messiah and being rewarded with eternal life, or alienating him, as we did in the past, and then be doomed to endless hell.

We, the Jews in Israel, are therefore perceived by these Christian believers as potential Christians; as a people who may very soon get an once-in-a-lifetime chance - the possibility of repenting and believing in Jesus at the end of the most terrible war on earth. The Muslims are in any case unworthy candidates for redemption and are doomed to death and hell, yet we can be rewarded with Heaven's eternal salvation.

Iranian bomb part of story

There were times where I believed that the alliance between the US and Israel is a pact between Western democracies that defend a liberal, enlightened system of values – the US does it around the world, while we do it in the Middle East.

Yet it appears the situation has changed. Today's alliance is that of fundamentalists and not democrats. It's a pact between those who sanctify land and those who sanctify Jesus; an alliance of those who dance on of Rahab the prostitute in Jericho and those who believe in the Messiah's revelation with ecstasy and with their eyes closed.

This alliance is joined by Iranian fundamentalists who seek to destroy Israel with an atomic bomb. When I asked several Christian believers in America about their position on Iran, they all provided a largely similar answer: This is the beginning of the War of Gog and Magog.

The atomic bomb that will be dropped on us will be the harbinger of the Christian Messiah's coming. Therefore, not only do they not really object to this bomb being dropped, but rather, they believe the Iranians are a sort of a servant of God tasked with the mission of starting this horrific war - whose conclusion, as noted, is clear.

We can refer to such matters with contempt and scorn, but we should remember: These believers, whose numbers are huge, are the pillar on which the Bush Administration rests on. They are those who dictate the president's policy, including his foreign policy.

Now it's clear why Washington is adopting a "sit and watch" policy regarding the Middle Eastern conflict. After all, this conflict has been initiated in Heavens and its solution is known and clear, so why intervene?

The Americans are one thing, but why are we dragged by this policy? Foreign Minister Livni was right when she said the conflict in our region is between fundamentalists and moderates. The problem is that we haven't been on the side of the moderates for a long time now, but rather, on the side of the zealots and fundamentalists.

Every day that passes where we continue to do nothing instead of proposing and trying new, bold diplomatic initiatives, brings us closer to the Christian redemption. Prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Which messiah? This depends on who you ask.